ABSTRACT
The international consensus that communications is a fundamental human right is emerging as we begin to understand the key role that the Internet plays in numerous spheres of social life. In 2010, United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, stressed the importance of access to the Internet and information in his remarks to the General Assembly (United Nations, 2010), and Spain and Finland have elevated broadband access to a legal right (BBC, 2010; Morris, 2009). The economic and democratic potential of Internet connectivity has driven 20 European Union nations and the United States to set goals for universal broadband access (see European Union, n.d.).
